Rock 'n' Roll Monsters: The American International Pictures Story

The Little Studio of Horrors

Bursting upon sleepy 1954 Hollywood like a radioactive mushroom, American International Pictures put its pedal to the metal for the next 25 years, spewing forth cinematic pop culture faster than any other film studio, and steaming up the Saturday nights of its grindhouse fans.

In this well-researched book, packed with over 130 photos, film historian Bruce G. Hallenbeck tells the definitive story of AIP and its low-budget canon of big-screen features, from gothic horror and giant creatures, to beach parties, teenage monsters, and blaxploitation.

Hallenbeck shares behind-the-screen stories, presents cogent summaries and analyses of the AIP films, and examines how AIP's fearless, populist filmmaking ultimately led to its demise at the hands of its better-funded rivals.

Whatever your thing—teenage werewolves, bikini-clad beach babes, amazing colossal beasts, women in prison, Vincent Price, bad-ass muthas, or any of the multitude of other essential characters that inhabit the frazzled edges of American pop culture—you'll find it here, fangs bared (sometimes breasts bared, too), your guilty pleasure until the credits roll.